Blog

Git is an indispensable tool for recording the history of our source code. This history increases in value the older that project gets; it is a unique archive of collaboration and hard work that describes how the project became what it is today. I wanted to write about the short and long term value of committing code, but I don’t want this series of posts to be just another set of Git commands, I want to explain why we’re doing this before we start geeking out.

Since the new React Context API dropped in 16.3.0, the initial thought on many people’s minds was whether its API was good enough to reconsider using Redux. I was wondering the same, but I hadn’t been following that topic further since then, even after 16.8.0 was released with Hooks. I tend to reach for popular technologies without understanding the full spectrum of problems they solve, so I got used to Redux too much.

Jest has lots of mocking features. For a long time I’ve been using only a small subset of them, but with experience I was able to gain a deeper understanding of these features. Now I want to share that knowledge with you because it has been incredibly useful to me.

There are many tools for ensuring consistency and improving the quality of JavaScript code. At first were using tools like JSLint, JSHint and JSCS, but then ESLint emerged, and later Prettier, and eventually those two became mainstream. Tools like these are powerful because they allow us to spot possible mistakes before we even run our code, which makes coding efficient especially if we’re using text editor extensions because then our mistakes get literally underlined as we type, like spell check.

I used to have my own Jekyll blog, but then I moved completely to Medium. I had my own publication there, I was even a premium member for a while. Eventually I decided to create my own blog again, much more advanced than the one I previously had, combining features I liked on Medium with the ones I missed.

I love ESLint. I think it’s a great way to impose your opinions… erm, I mean introduce new perspectives to your team. Seeing your mistakes literally underlined as you type is very powerful, and the explanation is just a hover away.

Unlike many other frameworks, React is very liberal in terms of where to place your logic. It doesn’t tell you how you should structure your application, which is nice because there are many exceptions to the rule when it comes to frontend development.

Besides hearing many arguments against polyamory, I’ve also witnessed quite a few against monogamy. Ideally we should accept both, and often we say that we do, but sooner or later our honest opinions surface.

I often have arguments about relationships and sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m not against monogamy itself (I have monogamous friends whose relationships are great!), I’m against myths about relationships perpetuated by our monogamous culture.

There’s a good chance that at some point in your life you’ll start seeing moths in your apartment. It’s tempting to just shrug it off and kill them as they come, because that’s very easy to do considering that they have the reflexes of a brick. However, they leave powder stains when squashed, so your walls will get dirty pretty soon. Maybe you decide to start killing them in flight, or sucking them in with a vacuum cleaner (it’s very satisfying). However, you’re still treating the symptom rather than the illness, which becomes painfully obvious once you start seeing larvae.

Occasionally I like to draw a short comic or two, but it takes so… much… time. I struggle with the silliest things because I have to do most of it by hand. I’d love it if there was a more specialized software which makes it easier to create decent comics. This fictional web app would…

A long while ago I had been unhappily in love for a few years. I still feel a little ashamed when I say that out loud because that’s a long time. I was trying to get over that relationship, but nothing seemed to work. It was a pretty bad period of my life, so I would like to help anyone who is in a similar mess.

When reading articles about of love, sex, and relationships (especially monogamy vs. polyamory), I’ve seen people policing each other for not stating their opinions subjectively enough. If authors don’t prefix every statement with “it is my own personal subjective opinion that”, they often receive comments that “it doesn’t work that way for everyone”, that they “shouldn’t generalize” etc.

A friend said that if you like someone else while in a relationship, you should immediately break up with your partner. She said this with an immense amount of certainty, I’ve never seen anyone that sure of anything before. I usually can’t resist starting a discussion, but that was a rare moment of wisdom.

We take breakups really hard, which is unusual considering how often we go through them. If you’re in an unhappy relationship, I encourage you to make that last step, because being with someone who you don’t want anymore can be the loneliest feeling in the world. 😞